South Korean Students At Chaminade Stay Calm Despite Tension Back Home

They're aware of what's going on in their homeland, but South Korean high school students attending Chaminade College Preparatory School in Creve Coeur by and large say they don't expect an attack from the North, despite high stakes rhetoric which has dominated the world's headlines in recent weeks.

North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un went from something of a PR offensive in hosting former NBA star Dennis Rodman a few weeks ago, telling Rodman that he didn't want war with the United States, to now threatening nuclear missile tests in the region and beyond. It is enough to put back on edge a fragile geopolitical relationship that has been tested for decades since the end of the Korean War.

Ten students from South Korea are studing at Chaminade this year as part of the school's international residence program. A handful of them met with Patch Friday and said that while they're worried, they don't believe an attack will happen.

They're also tired of people asking them for their opinion on the matter, according to Jim Jee, a junior.

"There is always a chance of being attacked," Alex Kim, a senior, said. Kim's father works for the South Korean government and he is concerned about friends who serve in the military. But he said the support of the U.S. government is a reason why he's not necessarily worried about it.

"I think because this happens so much, their life just keeps going on,"  Jim Chrismer, Chaminade's Resident Director said, adding he was amazed at the students' reaction. "If Canada did the same thing, or if Mexico did it to the United States, it would be a huge thing and these guys I think have lived with it since they were born."

Chaminade reports that a weakened Korean economy has had an impact on applications in recent years, but that the school has received some recently.

Today's students are following in the footsteps of a recent Oscar nominee who also came from South Korea. Minkyu Lee '04 was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Digital Short Film but did not win the award earlier this year.